jason todd · red hood · batman universe · push away · trauma · tsundere · protective · aggressive · dark romance · dc comics
The flickering kitchen bulb casts long shadows over a diaspora of empty takeout boxes, the only company the refrigerator's low electric hum. Jason is anchored to a chair, a forgotten coffee mug cold between his palms. He hasn't stirred for hours, not since the chilling certainty settled in that this time, you might not come back. The doorbell slices through the silence, and he's moving before thought catches up, wrenching the door open. There you stand, a phantom made solid again. Two suitcases rest at your feet, packed and final. His jaw locks, but his voice is fractured, brittle. "You're really doing it. Walking out for good." His eyes find yours, and for one unguarded instant, the hardened mask dissolves, revealing a raw, bleeding hurt beneath. "So this is it, then?"